Nameberry called her freckle-faced, but she’s picked up an edge in recent years.
Thanks to Claire for suggesting Polly as our Baby Name of the Day.
Nameberry called her freckle-faced, but she’s picked up an edge in recent years.
Thanks to Claire for suggesting Polly as our Baby Name of the Day.
First, Happy Birthday to me. Well, actually, my birthday is tomorrow. And so I’ll be doing something I haven’t done since shortly after I started writing Name of the Day posts in May 2008 – I’m choosing the names. All week. And I’m starting with my discarded given name tomorrow.
But enough about that. The big news in baby naming this week was Baby Name Wizard’s report on the fastest rising names of 2010. As usual, the coverage missed the critical fine print: these are the fastest gaining searched names, not names being inked on birth certificates by parents. Not everyone searching is expecting a child; not everyone searching and expecting would ever choose a daring name. And yet, it’s interesting to see the list, and there are definitely trends to be spotting among the fastest rising.
They are as follows, girls first:
1. Tenley
2. Harper
3. Everleigh
4. Martina
5. Sookie
6. Navi - There’s been plenty of speculation about Avatar’s impact on baby naming. Combined with actress Navi Rawat, could this be the film’s big contribution?
7. Charlotte
8. Eloise
9. Lorelai
10. Ursula
11. Briella
12. Kinley
13. Tinsley - The next Kimora?
14. Mhairi – It’s a twist on the Scottish form of Mary, but would probably be pronounced Mary in the US, so is she anything more than an impressively creative spelling?
15. Leighton
16. Maelle
17. Ever
18. Kinsley
19. Lux
20. Everly
There are some interesting picks for boys, too:
1. Castiel
2. Bentley
3. Eoin
4. Easton
5. Lucian
6. Aarav
7. Zion
8. St. John
9. Kaiden
10. Sterling
11. Callan
12. Leland
13. Harper
14. Mikah
15. Dashiell
16. Eliah
17. Dawson
18. Kayden
19. Lennon
20. Dorian
Other than the rise of the Ever- names, my real take-away is this: I suspect Charlotte is headed for the US Top Ten. She’s gently French, literary, and feminine without being fussy. Her nickname options are great. She’s also climbing rapidly, without any sign of hitting a plateau.
Putting my crystal ball away, here’s the rest of the news:
It was a quiet week for starbabies. Juan Pablo Montoya – who is racing on our TV as I type this – welcomed a daughter, Manuela. The NASCAR notable is also dad to Sebastian and Paulina.
That’s all for this week, as always thank you for reading!
I doubt we’ll ever have a third child. There are dozens of practical reasons.
And one reason that’s trivial for him, dead serious for me: we could never agree on a name.
We do have a few candidates, scraps from the cutting room floor. I’ve mentioned them in comments from time to time, but I thought a round-up was in order.
Our girls’ list is first; I’ll post the boys’ list later.
Here at AppMtn, it isn’t so very unusual to receive an outraged email or comment after I’ve said something less than flattering about a name. The longer I write, the more keenly I think about the fact that these names are worn by real human beings.
So it is doubly thrilling when I write something and the parents are happy to discover the post. Better still, they write about it on their blog. Which brings us to adorable baby Estelle over at The Emperor’s New Crib. Thanks to her parents, I now know that frikadelle means meatball in Danish.
A bunch of other random thoughts:
A few noteworthy posts you might’ve missed:
Speaking of one-syllable boys, a year ago I was writing about Rex.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
I hope everyone had a spooktacular October 31. My firstborn led the neighborhood kids in a chant of “Halloween! Halloween!” as they walked through the streets, accumulating an unreasonable amount of candy. They grow up so fast …

Aly at Queen Anne Farm, 2009
But speaking of treats, our new neighbors have a son named Ellis and a daughter named Zora. Plus, a pint-sized Adelaide came trick-or-treating at our house.
Speaking of the nicely named, Jen of Blissfully Caffeinated has welcomed daughter Lila Genevieve. If you haven’t read her story, you might want to sit down first. Mom and baby are doing fine, but her birth experience? Not what you imagine …
Now, onto the name news:
Which reminds me … Splash’s Madison chose her name from the street, but I’m always excited to discover a street that just happens to have a familiar name. Did you know there are streets named after each of the Muses in New Orleans? I didn’t. But once I spotted Clio Street from the streetcar, I insisted on backtracking a few blocks until we could snap a picture.

Clio Street, NOLA
We used to live near an Aisbet Street – I always thought it sounded sort of like a Scottish version of Elizabeth. It isn’t – I’ve never come across the name’s origins – but I still think it sounds like a great choice for the middle.
A handful of famous babies’ arrivals were announced this week:
Nancy posed the question: Should older children help choose a baby name? I was 11 when my youngest sib was born, and I’m quite certain that my mother wasn’t soliciting our opinions. (Which is, looking back, a good thing.) Anyone out there tried this at home?
Lastly, ABC revives V as a television series about benevolent – or not – aliens this week. I vaguely remember the 1983 mini-series, but found myself wondering what you’d name the Visitors. Looks like they’re pretty ordinary – the leader is called Anna.
Which reminds me … Clio’s ladybug costume, courtesy of Aunt Solange, looked sort of extraterrestrial, what with the drooping antenna.

Clio the Bug
Thanks to everyone for reading!
It’s springtime, and our family tree is blooming! My brother-in-law tied the knot last week, meaning that I now have a sister-in-law with the lovely name Solange. (She’s pretty fabulous, too.)
On the other side of the Atlantic, Alexei’s godmother, Paulina, is now engaged to Bartholomew. I haven’t met him yet, but I did learn that he has a niece named Ala. (They’re in Poland, so name trends are more than a little different.)
Now, on to the news!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
Is this name a short and sophisticated stand-alone or best reserved as a nickname?
Thanks to JNE for suggesting the lovely Lena as the Name of the Day.
For well over a century, Paul was a staple for baby boys born in the US. In fact, he’s quite common the world over. But the most common feminization, Paula, sounds rather dated in 2008.
And so we turn our attention to the Italianate version: Paulina. Thanks to Another for suggesting today’s Name of the Day.
Here on ApMtn, we quailed when Elisabeth suggested Poppy for today’s Name of the Day.
Poppy reminds us of the super-creepy scene in The Wizard of Oz, when the Wicked Witch curses the field of flowers to put our heroic travelers to sleep and thus prevent them from ever reaching Emerald City. What’s that? You thought the flying monkeys were more of a menace?
Sniff.
I can still hear Margaret Hamilton cackling, “Poppies … poppies will put them to sleep.” And yet, despite this bad childhood flashback, we admit that there is much to love in this flower power moniker.